Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians
Patroness of Australia
Most Rev. Julian Porteous, Auxiliary Bishop of Sydney
28 May 2011
We affectionately call this Cathedral "St Mary's". In fact its full title is "the Immaculate Mary, Help of Christians". When Cardinal Moran laid the foundation stone to the second cathedral building in 1868 he declared:
Who was the patron selected by the people and their newly arrived pastor, Father Therry, for the Mother Church? Mary, the Immaculate Mother of God, under the special invocation of Help of Christians, was chosen patroness.
The Cardinal was conscious that devotion to the Mother of God under the title of Help of Christians was solidly grounded in the hearts of the faithful in Sydney. The first Catholics in Sydney were from Ireland and they brought with them a strong love of Our Lady. They often relied upon the Rosary to support their faith when priests were not available to say Mass. The first Catholics in Sydney knew that Mary was their mother, and she was their help. They knew that they could turn to her in their needs and that she would come to their aid. For the Catholics in Sydney from the very beginning Mary had a special place.
Based on this spiritual heritage, in 1844, at the first assembly of bishops held in Australia, the bishops chose Mary under the title of Help of Christians as the patroness of Australia.
Today on this Saturday following her feast on the 24 May, and following a procession in her honour, we assemble for this Mass to celebrate the Feast and also to invoke the intercession of Our Lady, Help of Christians for our nation.
Today we look to Our Lady and we are also aware of our beloved country, Australia. Today, as we honour the patroness of Australia, we are conscious of the blessings and needs of our nation.
We are aware of the many blessings we enjoy in Australia - for freedom, social harmony and prosperity. We are aware that Australian society has benefited from its Christian roots. Our way of life has the quality it enjoys because it is founded on law and social convention that is inspired by the Christian principles of the dignity of the human person, by justice and a spirit of generous charity.
However, we are aware of shadows that gather over our nation. We are aware of threats of religious freedom, of a growing culture of death, of a weakening of marriage and family life. We know that there has been a decline in the practice of Christian faith. Many in Australia who have a Christian heritage in their family now live as though God does not exist.
Today we commend Australia and its future to the Blessed Virgin Mary. We know that, as at Fatima when she urged people to pray for the conversion of Russia, our Lady is aware of the needs not only of individuals but of nations as a whole. We seek her protection for our country that we can continue to enjoy peace and we pray that our country will turn back to God, be converted and allow Christian truth to shine on our institutions and our way of life.
In 1988, at the end of a Marian Year, the Bishops of Australia led by Cardinal Clancy in this cathedral rededicated Australia to the patronage of our Lady Help of Christians. In May 2001, in response to a request of the Holy Father, blessed Pope John Paul II, Archbishop Carroll as President of the Australian Bishops Conference, again in this cathedral, led an Act of Entrustment of the world to Our Lady. This was a response to the message of Our Lady at Fatima.
Thus it is entirely appropriate that we continue to pray to the Blessed Virgin for the spiritual and moral needs of our nation on this day. In a few moments we will make a personal consecration to Our Lady Help of Christians. In doing this we can carry the needs of Australia in our hearts. We make this consecration not only for ourselves, but also for our nation.
Mary, Help of Christians, pray for us.
